Ch.84Chapter 84. I’m the Last One.

The battle from last night, regardless of victory or defeat, had been stopped by the powerful being known as Tashian Pailoi.

If she had harbored ill intentions, both might have died on the spot, but Tashian didn’t go any further and even healed their bodies.

Not out of mercy, but purely to prevent him from noticing the commotion.

‘I shouldn’t interfere with that guy’s love life, but make sure you two don’t fight and cause him trouble. If you disrupt what he’s doing, I won’t stand by quietly.’

Yes, like herself, Tashian also wanted Hyoseong Woo’s journey to continue, though she wouldn’t directly help him.

Such a purpose would serve as a restraint against demons who couldn’t control their madness, and the certainty of this had allowed her to lower her guard against the demoness in this moment.

“…What is that?”

“It’s the new armor Hyoseong acquired.”

The upper part of the armor landed with a thud on the table in front of Merilyn, who was drinking tea.

Irie, stroking its surface, asked Merilyn who was now showing interest.

“As a demon, you can sense what this armor is made of, right?”

“…Let me check for a moment.”

Though it was essentially like using a fellow human as material, Merilyn probably wouldn’t take issue with it.

After all, demons live to fulfill their desires.

Since most prioritize themselves, they lack a sense of kinship with their own kind.

-Sniff sniff.

And unable to resist those desires, she immediately started sniffing the armor upon learning it was his.

Irie, belatedly recognizing the problem, quickly pulled at Merilyn’s clothes to stop her.

“…Stop sniffing it.”

“No, just a little more…”

“What do you mean a little more! I’ve never even smelled… no, that’s not the point! Get away from it right now!”

How could someone who was an executive in the Demon Lord’s army show so little dignity despite being a demon with savage tendencies?

While struggling to pull Merilyn away, the demoness finished sniffing and rested her chin on her hand, searching through her memories.

“This is a pureblood demon I remember.”

“…Pureblood?”

“As you know, Irie, the Demon Lord’s army has plundered across multiple dimensions. With such aggressive tendencies, the death rate was high, so how do you think we filled those vacancies?”

They captured different species during their raids, formed relationships with them, and had their offspring join the army.

Those relationships lacked love or higher purpose, but regardless, the reason their numbers remained stable across countless dimensions was because they replenished their ranks in each world.

“So the Demon Lord’s army is a group made up of various mixed-bloods.”

“That’s right. Demons with no mixed blood would be those who survived from the ‘first world’ where the Demon Lord’s army was established, but most have died off. The remaining purebloods could be counted on one hand, including myself and the Demon Lord.”

This meant that almost all the original members had been wiped out in the current timeline.

Even the Demon Lord no longer cared for the army, and of the Four Heavenly Kings who were the strongest purebloods, two had died… the other two had left the army for their own purposes, further reducing the number of purebloods remaining.

“…Do you remember all the pureblood demons?”

“I may not now, but I was once serious about the Demon Lord’s army’s activities, so I remember all the named purebloods.”

Being such rare beings, the memories stood out more.

Merilyn’s eyes, now looking down at the armor, became half-closed as if lost in nostalgia.

“The one who became the material for this armor was a demon who served as an assault captain in the early days of the Demon Lord’s army. Despite earning recognition for his achievements and qualifying to become one of the Four Heavenly Kings, he voluntarily gave up that position.”

“He gave up being one of the Four Heavenly Kings?”

“At first, he found everything except fighting bothersome, but at some point even fighting became tiresome, and he was content just blending in as a common soldier.”

The pity gradually filling her gaze was probably due to feelings of sympathy or kinship.

Though demons lack kinship with their own kind, she seemed to vaguely sense that this Demon of Indolence had walked a similar path to her own.

“It’s only natural. When the strong person you idolize suddenly loses all motivation.”

Perhaps he had noticed the Demon Lord’s condition before she did, and foresaw the fate awaiting demons who remained faithful to their desires until the end.

How pathetic must she have looked to him, still unable to let go and searching for ways to bring the Demon Lord back?

No, he probably found even that too bothersome.

His desire for indolence once meant ignoring everything except his purpose, but once he lost that purpose, even his motivation for growth was broken.

“I’m a bit jealous. Someone who foresaw the future of the Demon Lord’s army before I did has now become closer to Hyoseong than either of us.”

“…Must you always say such things.”

Her eyebrows furrowed at the characteristically frivolous joke.

But thinking it might be her way of letting go of a path she might have taken, Merilyn soon directed a serious gaze toward Irie.

“So, what would you like me to do with this armor?”

“I thought you’d know more about your own kind than Tashian would.”

No matter how skilled dragons, the sovereigns of all beings, are at handling materials, demons are still beings from another dimension.

Her understanding of materials from outside this world would be correspondingly lower, so Merilyn might actually have a better understanding of equipment made from demon materials.

“So you want me to awaken the potential of this armor.”

“Yes, this armor is necessary to preserve Hyoseong’s life right now.”

Whatever the case, both Tashian and herself wanted him to become stronger.

And that had to be achieved by gradually changing what already existed rather than making drastic changes.

The future must be rooted in the past, and a righteous future can never be grasped by uprooting those foundations.

“…Is it possible?”

But that purpose might not resonate with someone who had despaired at the calamity in this world.

She had considered the possibility of refusal, but Merilyn’s face, looking down at the armor, showed a sense of relief.

“Well, I don’t know if it will work well, but I’ll do my best.”

A surprisingly willing acceptance.

Wondering if she had some ulterior motive, Irie looked at her, but Merilyn continued speaking as if it were no big deal.

“You don’t need to be so wary. As you know, demons live for their own desires, and I want my love to last as long as possible.”

As she said, the only clear thing about this unpredictable woman was her love for him.

The fact that this was important enough for her to risk her life was proven in yesterday’s battle.

“Yes, desire is endless after all…”

But it’s precisely because of this obsession with their desires that demons are destined for short lives.

Even if they fulfill their desires, it’s the same.

Once a desire is fulfilled, an even greater desire emerges, and when this repeats, eventually even being alive becomes painful.

“If I obsess only about fulfilling it, I might end up like the Demon Lord someday.”

“…Even if such desire drives you to ruin, will you still pursue Hyoseong?”

“Of course.”

Despite the possibility of being driven to ruin by immersing herself in such desire.

The demon, trying to stay true to her nature, was gladly embracing the new desire she had awakened after coming to this world.

“Because I abandoned everything, thinking only of being with him.”

Irie Haven.

She had met someone who, despite having the same passion as herself, could protect him rationally and coolly, unlike herself.

If such a rival could restrain her madness, she would never become like her lord.

“So, Irie, if you’re willing to accept me, remember just one thing.”

The demon smiled, imagining the moment that would come after maintaining this belief, even as she held faith that her happiness would be prolonged.

No matter what happened afterward.

“Though you may be Hyoseong’s first, I will be his last.”

Feeling that she now had the right to dream.

“In the distant future, not now, the person closest to him will be me, not you.”

A voice infinitely serious and gentle.

In that moment, her characteristic madness seemed to have subsided, but that was only when interpreted through human common sense.

Despite being a slave to desire and impulse at her core, she understood patience and wanted to enjoy this moment when her impulses were restrained.

Wasn’t this a sight that completely shattered all preconceptions about the demon race?

“So, make sure you protect him well so I don’t break him. If you do that properly, I’ll go along with your unreasonable ideals.”

When the product of such madness reached out to her, Irie felt a trial greater than last night’s battle weighing on her shoulders.

She was just enduring for now, but as a race obsessed with desire, the impulses would only grow stronger.

This meant she had to endure until the end for the sake of her love and mission, but nevertheless, Irie was willing to accept the demoness’s madness.

Even if she was an unpredictable being of madness, she could become a trump card to change the predetermined future of destruction.

“…Yes, I look forward to working with you.”

Before their hands could meet for a handshake, Merilyn suddenly extended only her middle and index fingers in front of Irie’s palm.

Scissors versus paper.

“Hehe~ That makes it 1-1~”

Merilyn’s victory.

“…Merilyn.”

“My goodness~ Our Irie is a prophet but loses at rock-paper-scissors~ I’m worried if you can protect Hyoseong from me~?”

“Are you going to keep acting so childish?”

An unpredictable being who seemed playful one moment, then serious, then playful again.

Such a being was the natural enemy of a prophet, but on the other hand, having such a person by her side was also reassuring.

‘Yes, if she were to act unpredictably out of sight, it might come back as an unexpected disaster.’

If nothing else, her love for him was genuine, so at least she wouldn’t become his enemy.

Nevertheless, to check for any possible dangers, Irie immediately took out her crystal ball and attempted to foresee the future.

To see how their current relationship would continue, to check what would happen in a slightly more distant future.

‘Please let there be a normal future this time.’

But contrary to her wishes, what appeared in the crystal ball was her being more actively intimate with him in bed than ever before…

-Crackle!

Just as she was about to make a grimace at the sight.

With a sudden distortion, it began to change into a new future.

‘The future has been altered…?’

Irie focused on the crystal ball’s image again, feeling alarmed.

Sensing the atmosphere turning ominous, Merilyn looked up from examining the armor as requested and turned to Irie.

“Why the sudden change?”

“…Merilyn, please continue checking the armor’s condition here. I’m going to see Tashian for a moment.”

“What? Why that scary woman…?”

“I’ll explain later!”

After that, Irie burst through the front door and ran into the street.

Though her body was still tired and in pain, her face showed urgency as she sprinted through the streets.

‘Why, why has Tashian started rampaging when Hyoseong hasn’t died?’

What the crystal ball showed was a giant dragon blocking her path as she stood with an army trying to protect humanity.

The scene of everything beneath being destroyed and burned was similar to the tragedy she had witnessed when reading the past of the Dragon-Linked Tashian.

Despite the impossibility of another dragon existing in this world besides her.

‘What happens in the future to… no, what’s happening to her right now that’s causing such a capricious future to unfold?’

For dragons, promises are absolute.

How could she, who was supposed to go berserk only upon his death, be reigning as a calamity in front of her future self who clearly knew he was still alive?

*****

After leaving Tachia’s side for such an inexplicable reason that left me troubled.

I headed to the guild, our meeting place, to meet with Garam, but all I received from the staff was a notification from him.

“Hero Garam Lee is currently attending an assembly at the imperial palace and cannot come to the guild today.”

“An assembly at the imperial palace… Is it something very important?”

“Yes, I heard that a major mission will soon be assigned to multiple heroes.”

Well, since the title of hero is bestowed by the empire, he couldn’t ignore a mission briefing from the imperial palace.

But this created a problem for my plan to find a cleric through Garam’s connections.

As I was wandering the streets, pondering how to resolve this, I suddenly noticed someone waving at me from a construction site nearby.

“Hey friend passing by, can you stop for a moment?”

A man wearing light armor covering his upper body and a white helmet.

At first glance he looked like a knight, but what he held in his hand wasn’t a sword or blunt weapon, but a shovel used for digging up roads.

A helmeted man with a shovel…

Yes, definitely someone I remember.

“Oh, it really is the friend I know.”

“Hyoseong Woo! Have you been well? Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten me after not seeing me for two years!?”

“…Jaseong hyung?”

Paladin of the Spade—Jaseong Nam.

He was one of the few heroes who showed me kindness when I first arrived in this world.